Thoughts and observations about Modesto and Stanislaus County

A Follow-up to Aug. 13 Letter Regarding Modesto City Planners

This is a follow-up to the letter written by Carla von Hungen and posted here on 8/13. Please scroll down or http://wp.me/p1UFSP-14g

Dear Residents Across Modesto (whether living in the incorporated or unincorporated areas):

Remember to look at page 11 of the July 15, 2013 Planning Commission AGENDA This document can be found in its entirety on the web by searching the Modesto Planning Commission website, under this date. … View more

This document outlines some of the development the City and County wants to implement under the General Plan Amendment project. The General Plan Amendment is the document that governs all of Stanislaus County. The Planning Commission will vote to approve it or not, on August 19th at their public meeting.

The redevelopment of our existing neighborhoods with be with low income affordable housing via the verbage on Page 11 of the agenda report entitled “Neighborhoods.” This how our local government will destroy middle class neighborhoods, destroy thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars in real estate gains, and destroy the social fabric of a group of similar families with similar values and behaviors. By this document, our local government has decided to mandate that low income affordable housing will be incorporated into existing neighborhoods. This is NOT a mandate by state law, SB 375. This is OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT’S planning ideas, and might I say, very bad planning without care for people’s current and future wealth that is present in the homes they own. Let’s not even talk about the social problems that will occur from forcing low income or Section 8 (benefit) residents into our neighborhoods. Low income housing needs to be developed and located properly within the city and county. The below new “neighborhood” redevelopment (per the General Plan Amendment document) is being mandated ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY OF MODESTO (that’s incorporated and unincorporated areas).

These kinds of housing plans are negligent misinterpretations and malformations of a “sustainable city” under SB 375 by local city planners and other government personnel who have written or approve the General Plan Amendment as it now states. Anyone in our local government, or city planners, should respect people’s economic holdings of home ownership and the financial wealth that exists in the varying neighborhoods of this city. The expectation of real estate gains coming from the one major asset that families have, is sometimes, all that they have. There is no law that demands that low income housing should be incorporated into existing neighborhoods. The placement of low income housing is a very important decision and its location should not infringe or hurt any other existing resident’s real estate values. Low income housing brings various social and economic ills to middle class or upper class neighborhoods. It will destroy financial wealth for existing residents. These are real estate facts that are well known. This also intrudes into our constitutional protections to the pursuit of happiness and the foundation of economic prosperity that this country was built upon. Every American strives to reach higher, and as their lives progress and when they decide to invest in, they choose and spend thousands of dollars into a particular neighborhood because of its economic level, social behavioral expectations, and the type of residents who live there who have similar values. Homeowners who buy into middle and upper class neighborhoods have worked hard to afford it, and have finally achieved it, with no government handouts.

Local Modesto government and City Planners have no right to destroy the American economic model and cause financial injury to its residents who own property.

The below verbage of the General Plan Amendment document is a direct proximate cause of injury to residents if it passes. The below verbage should be modified and deleted:

“The City of Modesto will promote and facilitate a fabric of complete, cohesive, pedestrian-friendly and family-oriented neighborhoods across the entire City. New neighborhoods are to be integrated with existing neighborhoods, through contextual design consideration, compact development patterns and application of Neighborhood Compatibility Guidelines and other applicable development guidelines.”

“Goal III.C Neighborhoods. Neighborhoods should be complete, compact and sustainable so that housing, jobs, shopping and transit access are within easy walking distance of each other. Neighborhoods should include a mix of compatible land uses within close proximity, contain a diversity of housing types to accommodate a wide range of economic levels…”

Residents need to attend the Monday, August 19th Planning Commission public meeting and voice their opposition to this and other development under the General Plan Amendment document. The Planning Commission meeting will be held at 6pm at 1010 10th Street, basement level.

Your voice is needed. We all need to stand together, in as large of group as possible, to demand that this verbage be modified or deleted. This neighborhood building code is just about millions of dollars in grant monies being paid to developers and having a steady stream of tax payer money paid to our government. SB 375 is just ONE method of reducing greenhouse gases by building compact high density cities. We need to encourage our government to use “other” ways to meet the 5% GHG reduction mandate by 2020. We don’t have to let our government destroy our neighborhoods by low income housing (which people all over the Bay Area will come to live in it. There is no guarantee that our local residents will be chosen for it.). Don’t think your voice won’t matter. There is only one more chance on August 19.

Unincorporated area residents of the City of Modesto need to be concerned about this too.